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Marshall junior right-hander Steven Johel tossed five shutout innings
against Paul VI on March 28.
Statesmen competitive
against perennial
powers Madison, PVI.
By Jon Roetman
The Connection
The Marshall baseball team had
just suffered its second narrow
defeat in a week against a topflight
opponent when head
coach Aaron Tarr met with a reporter behind
the third-base dugout at Waters Field
in Vienna.
The Statesmen battled Paul VI with temperatures
in the 30s on Saturday night.
Marshall had the potential go-ahead run
thrown out at home plate in the top of the
seventh inning before surrendering the
game-winning run in the bottom half via
bases-loaded walk.
The Statesmen missed an opportunity to
upset a private school program that routinely
competes for championships. Tarr,
however, wasn’t bitter. On the contrary, the
third-year Marshall head coach voiced pleasure
in the realization that the defending
Conference 13 champion Statesmen have
the pitching necessary to make another
deep postseason run.
Paul VI defeated Marshall 1-0 on March
28, dropping the Statesmen’s record to 0-
2. While Marshall struggled to generate offense,
the performance of starting pitcher
Steven Johel was a bright spot for the
Statesmen.
Johel tossed five shutout innings, allowing
just two hits. The junior right-hander
walked one, struck out one and hit two batters.
JOHEL’S PERFORMANCE came four
days after Marshall senior Will Brooke, who
will play for Coastal Carolina University,
pitched in the opener against perennial
power Madison, keeping the Statesmen
competitive before losing, 4-2.
“I take away [from Saturday’s game] that
Steven Johel, our pitcher, did a flippin’ awesome
job,” Tarr said. “The reality is that in
order for us to advance as far as we want,
you’ve got to have two or three guys that
you can trust. The way that Will showed
that he could throw on Tuesday against
Madison, and then Steven showed that he
could throw today — against those two
opponents in particular — gives us a lot of
confidence in our pitching staff going forward.”
What makes Brooke and Johel quality
pitchers?
“Will’s strength is he throws hard,” said
Tarr, adding that Brooke throws in the midto-upper
80s with a good curveball and
change-up. “… He has stuff that can dominate
people. Steven’s a little bit different
than that, where he’s more of a high pitchexecution
guy. It’s not that he doesn’t throw
hard — he can get into the 84, 85 range,
just not as hard as Will — but he throws
stuff with heavy sink and run. Guys pound
the ball into the ground; they don’t get the
barrel [on the ball] very much.”
Marshall senior Will Brooke will play baseball at Coastal Carolina University.
Marshall Coach Tarr Pleased with Pitching Performances
Photos by Patrick Gaffney
Marshall catcher Mitch Blackstone, a 2014 all-state selection, is a fouryear
varsity starter.
“Most [teams] only really
have their one ace who
goes out there and you
know he can get a win.
I’m happy to say that we
have two.”
— Marshall catcher Mitch
Blackstone
Handling the Marshall pitching staff is
senior catcher Mitch Blackstone, a four-year
varsity starter and 2014 all-state selection.
“Most [teams] only really have their one
ace who goes out there and you know he
can get a win,” Blackstone said. “I’m happy
to say that we have two. Steven has definitely
come a long way. He looked really
solid today, absolutely great start. Will, he’s
always good and when he’s on, he’s virtually
untouchable.”
Along with being a leader behind the
plate, Blackstone, who will play baseball at
Cornell University, is one of the top sluggers
in the area.
“It’s very hard because you can kind of
look at his career and say, let’s get another
.500 [average] and another five [or] six
home runs, or more than that,” Tarr said.
“He’s capable of lord knows how much —
[in batting practice], he looks ridiculous. I
try to temper the expectations on that because
it can be dangerous for him to play
that numbers game. Our expectations are
for him to lead the way he always has been
and to scare other people, which he does,
and try not to put actual numbers on stuff.”
Marshall sophomore shortstop Robert
Guenther had a double against PVI, and
seniors Shane Russell and Mark Leduc, and
sophomore Casey Lauer each had a single.
The Statesmen are looking to improve on
playoff runs from each of the last two seasons.
In 2013, Marshall started 0-7 and entered
the postseason with a 6-13 record but
managed to reach the AAA Northern Region
semifinals, falling one victory shy of a state
berth.
In 2014, Marshall won the Conference 13
championship and reached the 5A North
region semifinals, again falling one win
short of states.
Tarr said the Statesmen want to take the
next step.
“We just want that last little bit,” he said
about qualifying for states. “We would take
that over winning another conference
championship.”
AFTER SPRING BREAK, Marshall will
host Langley at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April
7.
“The fact that we’re competing against
teams like PVI and Madison, the fact that
we’re holding them close, playing them
well, battling back … it shows me that this
program has come a long way from three
years ago when I was a freshman and we
played Madison, went over to their place,
and the game was over after the second
inning,” Blackstone said. “I’m really excited
about this team.”
12 ❖ Vienna/Oakton Connection ❖ April 1-7, 2015 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com